The importance of user experience innovation…
One of the areas that I am constantly discussing and debating with friends and colleagues is the importance of user experience, particularly in how it relates to how we as humans interact and communicate with/through technology. There are some fantastic examples of user experience innovations that are in market today (Apple iPhone, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Surface…etc), which have been documented, reviewed and scrutinized by better folks then me. Having said that, I thought it would be interesting to show an innovative approach to improving user experience that has not yet been launched into the market. In the attached video, Anand Agarawala presents his BumpTop desktop user interface to the brains at TED for the first time…
I sincerely hope the success of underdog Nintendo or late-entrant Apple (in the handset space) assist other manufacturers in realizing the benefits of design and commitment to innovative, immersive and relevant user experiences.
December 10th, 2008 at 7:27 am
Great, a graphically and some-what functionally enchanced desktop but where is the underlying value? It would be intersting if there were other attributes, such as; task awareness or priority recognition. I mean seriously, if we have an unorganized physical desk than why would i want to have another cluttered virtual desk? I would like to have something that makes my life easier rather than just another fancier way of masking the same mess.
December 10th, 2008 at 7:52 am
While I understand your concerns regarding this particular implementation of an alternative user interface, the real concept I am trying to push is user experience innovation in the general sense. While this iteration may not replace traditional methodologies anytime soon, the fact that there are intellegent and creative folks out there trying to provide net new experiences is inspriring in my opinion. I would also add that innovation in UX is not limited to just the traditional OS space (Windows, Linux…etc.), but also includes game consoles, mobiles, ATM’s, TV’s, DVR’s, MID/UMPC’s and more… As Nintendo, Ubuntu and Apple have shown, providing an innovative, intuitive and pleasant user interface is good for business.